Tacoma Sandwiches

Picture this: you go through a mental checklist while deciding where to meet friends after work. A great beer? That’s a must. Some good goes-with-beer food? That’s Peaks and Pints in Tacoma’s vibrant Proctor neighborhood. Peaks and Pints co-founders Robby and Justin Peterson — owners of Peterson Bros. 1111 on Hilltop Tacoma and The Valley near Tacoma’s Amtrak Station — created the Peaks and Pints food menu, which includes their sandwich, salad and appetizer talents.

Beer geeks and craft brewers tend to turn their noses up at brown ales because they lack the extreme flavors and hoppiness that is fashionable, but these are tasty beers that pair well with many different foods. The dark and rich notes of chocolate and coffee complement Peaks and Pints’ roast beef and smoked Gouda sandwich. It’s simple, hearty and delicious.

THE ORLEANS

Peaks and Pints’ sandwich, The Orleans, is a twist on a New Orleans’ muffuletta, which is as twist on an Italian sub. Our hearty sandwich is served on a soft, herb French roll and liberally filled with ham, pepperoni, salami and melted provolone. The ingredient that really sets this sandwich apart is the Kalamata/green and black olive tapenade.

Beers are soured by introducing acidifying bacteria (Lactobacillus and Pediococcus being the most common) to fermenting beer. Wild beer is generally used to describe any beer that displays the earthy characteristics of Brettanomyces yeast strains regardless of whether the beer is a light golden ale or a strong dark stout. Often these styles receive all three of the bacteria to blend a funky, sour character that cause beer geeks to freak out. A sour beer will play up the tartness from the olives and cut the fattiness of the meats.

THE SHERPA

The Sherpa delivers robust flavor using simple ingredients. French bread is smothered with goat cheese then topped with arugula, red onion, tomato, warmed slices of roasted turkey and a dash of spicy mayo.

Goat cheese has a distinct, tart, sweet and earthy flavor. It pairs well with IPAs and saisons, but Peaks and Pints grabs a pilsner when we sit down with The Sherpa. Pilsner might be the most versatile food beer, with hops being able to cut through the spicy mayo and enough bubbles to cleanse the palate after the goat cheese. When in doubt, grab a pils.

PEAKS REUBEN

Although the origins of the Reuben sandwich are unclear, the earliest references to it in print are New York-based. According to one account, it was created by Arnold Reuben, the German owner of the now defunct Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City. Regardless of its origin, it’s delicious and made even more so at Peaks and Pints, with thinly sliced brisket pastrami, creamy Havarti, sauerkraut and housemade 1000 on marbled rye bread.

Suggested Beer Pairing: Citrus IPA

It’s an outstanding sandwich on its own, but it gets even better when paired with a drink that enhances all the ingredients, such as a pungent beer like an IPA. The bitterness of an IPA doesn’t get lost amongst the liberally seasoned and smoked deli meat, rye bread and sauerkraut. The citrusy finish from the beer will quench your thirst after the salty pastrami.

BBQ TURKEY BLEU

Between the roasted turkey meat, blue cheese crumbles, provolone and barbecue sauce, Peaks and Pints’ barbecue turkey sandwich is packed with a powerful punch of flavor. Add red onion, arugula and toasted sourdough and this sandwich screams for a stout.

Stouts feature barley malt roasted like coffee beans, and the flavors created in the process — chocolate, coffee and even smoky char — mirror many flavors present in barbecue sauce. These “flavor bridges” create a pleasing harmony that can elevate both the sandwich and the brew and even reveal subtle flavors in one (or both) that are easy to miss on their own. The blue cheese’s sharp flavor is a better foil for the roastier notes in a stout, too.

SMOKED SALMON BLT

Smoked salmon has a distinct flavor that pairs best with a porter. Normally it is not recommended to pair a heavy beer such as a porter with a lighter dish such as seafood, but smoked salmon has an intense aroma that can match the dark beer. Plus, the roasted flavor of a porter compares with the smokiness of the salmon and the bacon.